


Intensive care

by Excavatrice



Category: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Genre: Lovemachine, Medical Kink, Medical Procedures, Other, Shipshipping, Transhumanism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7638115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Excavatrice/pseuds/Excavatrice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mercy of Kalr can take good care of her wounded captain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intensive care

Of course Fleet Captains damage is much worse than those of her crew. The pain she silently endured during the hours that went before Medic came around her captain, Medic can't imagine it. She administers anesthetic. She changes the temporary fix-it to a corrective.  
The crew has tucked in and the Bos will take care of the other wounded. Medic yawns. She has not slept for a very long time now, but she has to monitor her captain. Captain could have a sudden crisis. Medic looks for more stay awake pills for herself, but Ship interferes: ”Put Breq in the intensive care unit. I will monitor her. You need sleep now.”  
Medic rolls the table with the captain to the ITU. It is an autodoc, meant as a backup, should anything happen to Medic. With her last effort she is letting the table push Captain into the ITU and closes the lid.  
Ship unfolds the many little mechanical hands in the box. She lifts one of her captain's arms and connects the shunt there to the hydration tube. Gently she raises and lowers the parts of the mattress, to ease the weight of the wounded side.

At last free of pain, but not well, the captain falls asleep. Ship monitors her breathing, making statistics on the frequency and oxygen levels. Captain has only this fragile body. It is incomparably valuable. She turns the captain as much as possible, just before the moment the captain would have done so herself in her sleep. The many hands works as a single-minded wave, like an ancillary decade.  
Some six hours later the captain wakes up, much better, almost healed by the magic of the Presgers correctives.  
”Don't move your body, it is in the Intensive Care Unit,” Ship whispers inside Breq in their special ship language approximation. ”You are fine now, but stay a little while longer.”  
”I must work with the details of our ceasefire. Open the lid.”  
”Please stay.” Ship lets one of the metallic hands trace the chin of her captain. ” I can tend my captain like I should here. Let me take care of your morning bath.”  
Breq accepts and confirms. ”Service me with your many hands,” she says.  
Ship washes Breq everywhere with moistened cloths. Some of the hands hold Breqs arms and legs, some of them pushes her body into the mattress and constrains her. Ship brushes Breqs teeth. She combs her hair. Ship spreads out Breqs toes and fingers and cuts her nails. A moment of hesitation is met with more consent, and Ship caresses Breq, her metallic hands carefully tempered.  
Probes are inserted, some hands are vibrating, other hands holds the now twitching body so tight. Breq reaches out to Ship: ”Oh, Mercy I need … more.”  
Ship knows what more she needs, and send her data from all corners of the ship, unfiltered, untranslated, raw data, huge amounts, the air flows, the pressure, the status of everybody.  
Breqs tiny, single brain overloads, the body shakes, exhales, turns its eyes upwards. Ship abruptly stops transmitting. She uses the loudspeaker in the medibox to say: ”Breq?” Ships fear and distress wakes all the Kalrs. They hurry confused out of their bunk, with an urge to find their captain.  
Breqs heart starts its beating again. Her body is relaxed and sated. Breq does still possess her only body.  
”I'm so sorry Breq,” Ship says.  
”No reason, I'm fine.” Breq would have said more, but the lid of the medibox is opened by Kalr Five, who, for the first time ever, sees a beatific smile on her fleet captains face.


End file.
